Wednesday

Sep 18, 2019 at 4:38 PM

Two high-profile Pennsylvanians have come under the police spotlight in a span of just two days.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez, 28, has been benched after being accused of having sexual relations with a 13-year-old, while Sen. Michael Folmer resigned shortly after police claimed they found child pornography on his phone. The cases are unrelated.

Vazquez, according to Fox News, allegedly admitted to police that he drove to the girl's home to have sex with her. He was arrested on multiple felony charges Tuesday.

The incident reportedly happened two years ago.

The girl's mother, Fox News says, discovered suggestive text messages and became concerned, eventually contacting police. The athlete is now on administrative leave.

“We take this matter, and these charges in particular, extremely seriously,” Pirates president Frank Connelly said in a written statement.

The second, unrelated case, unfolded just a short time later.

Investigators with the Pennsylvania attorney general's office allege they found inappropriate photos on Folmer's phone after serving a search warrant at his home in the city of Lebanon, CNN reports.

The search warrant was the result of a tip claiming someone had uploaded child pornography to Tumblr. That tip, CNN says, led to the Folmer home.

Folmer submitted a resignation letter Wednesday.

"We are sickened and disturbed by the charges brought against Mike Folmer yesterday," Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman said in a joint written statement. "We have reviewed the criminal complaint and spoke with Mike Folmer early this morning to insist on his resignation from the Senate."